BioNTech to wind up Singapore vaccine manufacturing plant by early 2027

SINGAPORE – German biotechnology firm BioNTech, which has suffered large revenue declines in recent quarters, will shut its vaccine and therapeutic drug manufacturing plant in Singapore by February 2027.

Its decision comes after US biopharmaceutical firm MSD said in March that it would shut one of its manufacturing sites in Singapore.

BioNTech told The Straits Times that the decision was made after a “comprehensive review”.

“BioNTech made the strategic decision to close its planned Singapore site by the end of February 2027, as we continue to align capacity with our clinical portfolio and long-term strategic direction,” the company said on March 31.

It currently has 85 employees at the Singapore site.

“We recognise the significant contributions of our employees affected by these changes and are committed to supporting them through this transition,” said BioNTech.

The biomedical sciences ecosystem is a key growth engine of Singapore’s economy. According to the Economic Development Board (EDB), the industry accounted for 1.9 per cent of the Republic’s gross domestic product in 2024, generating an output of over $32 billion. It employs more than 26,000 people.

EDB told ST that it is working closely with BioNTech and MSD, along with Workforce Singapore and NTUC’s Employment and Employability Institute, to support affected employees, including facilitating job placements.

In 2022, BioNTech acquired a manufacturing facility in Tuas Biomedical Park from Novartis, a Swiss multinational pharmaceutical firm, and announced that the facility would serve as its regional headquarters.

After a full build-out, the plant was expected to have a production capacity of up to several hundred million doses of vaccines based on messenger RNA – the technology behind BioNTech’s groundbreaking Covid-19 vaccine.

Besides Covid-19 vaccines and boosters, BioNTech had also planned to develop and manufacture other therapeutics and vaccines – such as cancer vaccines – on clinical and commercial scales.

However, sales of Covid-19 vaccines plummeted after the pandemic, while most cancer vaccines by BioNTech and other companies are still under development.

On March 10, shares of BioNTech plunged after the company announced that its founder couple – chief executive Ugur Sahin and chief medical officer Ozlem Tureci – would depart by the end of 2026 to establish a new company.

On the same day, BioNTech reported modest revenue growth of about 4 per cent for 2025 and said it expected a 25 per cent revenue decline in 2026, driven by lower Covid-19 vaccine sales in both the US and European markets.

The firm, in its response to ST, said it actively manages the whole pipeline of drugs and vaccines and assesses all sites based on certain key criteria: strategic alignment, operational efficiency and sustainable value creation.

“We remain committed to cost-effective value generation. We consequently plan to continue to significantly invest in essential areas while optimising capacities in others,” it added.

Other pharmaceutical and biotech firms are also adjusting to the shift in global markets, where weight-loss drugs are the new rage. The sector is also facing pressure from threats of tariffs and the withdrawal of vaccine development funding by the US.

MSD, known as Merck & Co in the US and Canada, announced a multi-year investment plan in Singapore in 2022 and more recently did well in terms of sales and profits.

However, in 2025, it announced job and cost cuts that it said would save the company US$3 billion (S$3.85 billion).

On March 18, 2026, Lianhe Zaobao reported that MSD would close one of its manufacturing sites in Singapore.

Responding to an ST query, MSD said: “We have informed employees of the decision to cease operations at one of our manufacturing facilities in Tuas. Operations at our other Tuas facilities are not affected by this announcement.”

It added: “We continuously assess our operations and evolving business needs and adjust as needed to ensure the effectiveness of our manufacturing network in delivering reliable, compliant supply of our medicines and vaccines.”

MSD declined to comment on what the now-closed site was manufacturing and how many employees were affected.

Operating in Singapore since 1997, the company established its Asia-Pacific headquarters here in 2007. So far, it has invested more than US$2 billion and has more than 1,800 employees in Singapore.

The Republic began building its biomedical sciences ecosystem over 20 years ago. Today, it is home to eight of the top 10 global biopharma companies involved in manufacturing and/or research and development. They include major multinationals such as Abbott, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer.

While individual firms may adjust their global footprint based on their portfolio and long-term strategic direction, Singapore’s biomedical sciences sector continues to see strong growth and opportunities.